Multiple dry runs leading up to hit on anti-gang cop Charl Kinnear, court hears

In his third day on the stand in the Western Cape High Court, Hawks’ Captain Edward du Plessis explained how Zane Kilian allegedly carried out Google Maps searches and phone pinging simultaneously to establish how long it took Lt-Col Charl Kinnear to get from the Elsies River police station, Parow and Zevenwacht to his home in Bishop Lavis.

Google Maps travel estimates from the three locations showed it would take nine minutes to travel the 4.7km from Elsies River SAPS, nine minutes to cover the 5.5km from Parow, and 16 minutes to cover the 11km from Zevenwacht.

Elsies River SAPS to Bishop Lavis. (Source: Google Maps)

Parow to Bishop Lavis. (Source: Google Maps)

Zevenwacht to Bishop Lavis. (Source: Google Maps)

On Wednesday 22 May, Du Plessis explained that Kilian had tracked Kinnear’s cellphone and used the MarisIT system to gain access to his personal information, including his home and work addresses, employment history, banking information, bond account number and which bank held the bond.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Kilian knew Kinnear was a cop, ‘pinging’ had nothing to do with debt collection, court hears

Kilian has admitted to “pinging” Kinnear’s cellphone to trace his location and claims he did it at the behest of alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack.

Kilian and Modack are the main accused in the murder of Kinnear on 18 September 2020. They have also been charged with attempting to murder lawyer William Booth on 9 April 2020.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Gang leader charged alongside Nafiz Modack over attempted murder of lawyer William Booth

Modack, Kilian and 12 other co-accused face more than 3,100 charges in a case which puts Modack as the leader of a lucrative criminal organisation known as the “Modack Enterprise”.

The other co-accused are Terrible West Siders gang members Ziyaad Poole, Moegamat Toufeeq Brown, Riyaad Gesant, Fahmeed Kelly and Marco Petersen; former Anti-Gang Unit Sergeant Ashley Tabisher; Junky Funky Kids gang member Janick Adonis; and Jacques Cronje, Petrus Visser, Amaal Jantjies, Yaaseen Modack, Mogamat Adiel Mukudam and Ricardo Morgan.

In an affidavit contained in his third bail application, Kilian said that Modack had directed him to acquire information about Kinnear. He also claimed that Modack had informed him that Kinnear was a dishonest police officer to whom he had paid money; that Kinnear and alleged Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen had colluded, and that Modack was being targeted for a “hit”.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Lawyer warned me not to implicate Modack in Kinnear’s murder, Zane Kilian claims in latest bail bid”

Captain Edward Du Plessis at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town. May 07, 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Theo Jeptha)

Location expedition

According to prosecutor Greg Wolmarans, the evidence presented by Du Plessis is part of the effort to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Kilian and Modack carried out Kinnear’s murder and that it was premeditated.

Wolmarans told the court: “The State is embarking on a journey to show that pinging serves a purpose way beyond consumer tracing”.

He added that the purpose of the Google Maps search was to determine Kinnear’s estimated arrival time at his home. It began on 29 July 2020 at various locations including Parow, the Elsies River police station and Zevenwacht, and ended at his Bishop Lavis home.

“The search from Elsies River police station was done at 4.48pm. It tells us that Kinnear would have reached his home around 5pm. But somewhere at Bofors Circle, Kinnear was delayed and according to Kilian’s pinging list, he pinged Kinnear several more times,” Du Plessis said.

The last pinging on every occasion on Kinnear’s trip home was when he turned into Anne Road, Bishop Lavis, where the cellphone tower would pick up his signal. This was done on numerous occasions, he told the court.

On August 18 2020, Kinnear had received 118 pings and corresponding Google Maps searches, Du Plessis said.

Explaining the number of pings on the day in question, he stated: “Kinnear was travelling from Zevenwacht to his home. The Google search began at 3.55pm and his estimated arrival time at 10 Gearing Street was 4.30pm.

“Kinnear was delayed on his way home, and over 12 Google Maps and pings were used to determine where he was. Three hours later, Kinnear arrived at the tower on Anne Street, near his home. Kinnear was pinged 118 times while driving for three hours,” he told the court.

When Judge Robert Henney asked if the State had any proof of who Kilian was communicating with when sending WhatsApp messages, Du Plessis said that it was Nafiz Modack.

According to Du Plessis, the majority of Kilian’s pinging took place on his Samsung J4 phone, with the last ping occurring at 3.15pm, 15 minutes after Kinnear was shot dead outside his home. He said that at 5.34pm, the sim card was inserted into a Samsung A6 handset.

The State contends that the voluminous Google Maps searches and pingings were part of fine-tuning Kinnear’s planned assassination on 18 September 2020.

Zane Kilian. (Photo: Facebook)

Modack’s pseudonyms

The court heard of numerous screenshots of WhatsApp messages, Google coordinates from pinging, and consumer trace reports Kilian allegedly sent to someone identified on his phone as “Modack Naf”, “Modack 111”, “Modack 2020”, or “Nafiz Ghost”.

Modack Naf was one of the pseudonyms that murder-accused Zane Kilian saved on his contact list. (Photo: Facebook)

The court was shown photos of Kilian holding a firearm in his hand with his left arm around Modack’s neck, together with three other people, two of whom also had firearms in their hands. Wolmarans argued that these pictures demonstrated the “friendly” relationship between Modack and Kilian.

One of the messages Kilian sent to an unknown person on 11 August 2020 reads: “Andre Naude said that I won’t see Christmas and that I am Modack’s right-hand man.”

The name of Naude came up during the testimony of “Mr A”, who claimed that in September 2019, he (Mr A) fired at Naude’s home on the orders of Modack. “Mr A” is serving 25 years in prison for the murder of Nicholas Heerschap, the father of former Hawks officer Nico Heerschap, outside his home in Melkbosstrand on 9 July 2019.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Modack told me he was proud of the job’, says State witness on Heerschap murder”

The Kinnear case and the Brian Wainstein murder trial were both postponed until 3 June as a result of the 29 May election. Both cases necessitate a heavy police presence at court. However, these officers will be on election duty as of Monday. DM